What is it? Chatham Hellmers jokingly refers to her Second Avenue North boutique as a “poor man’s Anthropologie.”

Like the popular retail chain, Charm offers eclectic jewelry and gifts, ranging from vintage handbags to luxurious scarves. Unlike the chain store, however, Charm boasts low prices and an authentic, one-of-a-kind flair.

“I describe Charm as an estrogen bomb,” she says. “It’s an explosion of everything that is girly and pretty much unnecessary, the small luxuries that make life a little bit happier.”

Charm has plenty of new knick-knacks like magnets and greeting cards, but the store’s most distinctive offering is its vintage jewelry collection, which trickles in from estate sales, local artists, and, overwhelmingly, Hellmers’ own jewelry box.

“I’m 41 now, and I’ve been collecting vintage jewelry since I was 15,” she says. “My house was starting to look like an episode of Hoarders, so I decided it was time to put the big girl pants on” and start selling the unique pieces of her own collection.

History: Hellmers says her education, past business ventures, and voracious appetite for vintage jewelry have all culminated in Charm, which she opened in September 2009. Her background in fashion illustration is apparent in the jewelry she creates, as well as in the chic space she designed for Charm, complete with oversized charms hanging on its brightly colored walls. Her past business endeavors, including Five Points South accessory store Jinx, and a later store, Luxe, have also prepared her for her work with Charm. Most of all, the vintage jewelry she has been collecting all her life—collecting, but rarely wearing—seems to have finally achieved its full potential.

“I realized I’d been saving all of my jewelry for a purpose,” she says. “Even in spite of Jinx, and in spite of Luxe, it’s all come together for Charm.”

What makes it unique? Hellmers says Charm stands out as a small business with a personal, uncompromising vision.

“Everything I put into this shop is either something that I have owned or something that I would own in a heartbeat,” she says. “It’s just what I love. If I don’t like it, I’m not going to sell it.”

She says customers seem to have responded to her vision of a boutique that she would want to shop in, at prices she would want to pay.

“It’s kind of a drag to have to go to the mall. It’s kind of a drag to have to go to a chain store and buy something because it’s the least of all the evils,” she says. “It feels better to see somebody’s personality expressed in their own space.”

What’s ahead? Hellmers says she looks forward to opening two more stores on Second Avenue North, including a mod clothing and accessories store and a more masculine furniture and gifts store. As for Charm, Hellmers says it’s here to stay.

“I just love Charm so much, I want it to go on forever,” she says. “It’ll have to go on for a long time, because moving the chandelier alone would be a nightmare!” •